Formerly known as Easy Comes Easy Goes 2.0. I am a Malaysian who loves Hollywood but has never set foot there. My interests = Anything that interests you including Hollywood, Bollywood and Clint Eastwood. Thanks for reading folks. This blog contains 100% true postings, based on established international media reports and reputable trustworthy sources. No lies or fabrications included. Cheers.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Academy Awards. But that success did little to help Azharuddin Ismail and his family...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - City authorities in Mumbai demolished the shanty home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Thursday, forcing his family into the streets months after the Oscar-winning film shot him to global fame.

Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the character of Salim as a child in the film, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.

Ismail's tarpaulin-covered home in a teeming slum was one of several shanties, illegally built along a drain, that were demolished by local authorities in Mumbai, India's financial capital and entertainment hub.

"When they came I was sleeping, they shook me awake and one policeman even threatened me," Ismail, surrounded by half-broken suitcases filled with clothes and utensils, told Reuters.

"What can I do if they have demolished my house? I will sleep out in the open."

A poster of "Slumdog Millionaire," signed by director Danny Boyle, fluttered from the only wall of Ismail's shanty still standing. Open sewers run nearby and it had no running water.

Authorities said the shanties had been demolished earlier but had sprung up again on the same spot.

"The shanties are all touching a drain that has to be cleaned before the advent of the monsoons," said U.D. Mistry, the local official in charge of the demolition drive.

Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of "Slumdog Millionaire's" child stars living in squalor despite the movie's box-office success and eight Academy Awards.

The film also sparked controversy for its name, deemed by some to be offensive to slum dwellers, and its treatment of the cast. Its depiction of the lives of poor Indians was dubbed "poverty porn" by sections of the media.

In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and fellow child star Rubina Ali new houses. But Ismail's mother, Shameem, said the family is now at the mercy of the rains.

"We also heard that the government had promised us houses, but what happened? We are still homeless," she said. "My son has brought glory to the country, shouldn't he get some credit?"

Missing British Child, Madeleine McCann

British girl missing in Portugal since May 3rd, 2007. Madeleine McCann A combination of two pictures released by Madeleine McCann's family. One shows Madeleine at the age of 3 (L), and an 'age progression' image of what she would look like at the age of 9. Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, just days before her fourth birthday, from the family's holiday apartment at the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. Her parents were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant when she went missing. If you have any information on Madeleine's whereabouts, please contact the Operation Grange team at 0207 321 9251 or OperationGrange@met.pnn.police.uk. More info about Madeleine can be found at: findmadeleine.com

Help 12 year old NEOWELL VANN HOUTTON, Thalassemia patient from Sabah, East Malaysia

Missing Child in Malaysia / Kanak2 hilang

Satishkumar Tamilvanan, 5 years old is missing in the district of Jalan Permatang Pauh, Seberang Jaya, Penang at 2.00 p.m. on the 8th of August 2012. He was last seen in green shorts,a yellow T-shirt with a Spiderman motif and clad in shoes and socks. If you have seen this child anywhere, please contact the Action Room, Police HQ,Seberang Perai Tengah at 04-538 2222 or INSP Mohamad Ehsan Bin Abu Bakar at 012-2494002.